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  • …  
    • Home
    • The Summit
    • The Startups
    • Tampa
    • Speakers
    • Mentors & Judges
    • Agenda
    • Sponsors
    • Get Involved
    • COVID Protocols
    Watch the Finals
    #SOTYSUMMIT9
    • Home
    • The Summit
    • The Startups
    • Tampa
    • Speakers
    • Mentors & Judges
    • Agenda
    • Sponsors
    • Get Involved
    • COVID Protocols
    • …  
      • Home
      • The Summit
      • The Startups
      • Tampa
      • Speakers
      • Mentors & Judges
      • Agenda
      • Sponsors
      • Get Involved
      • COVID Protocols
      Watch the Finals
      • 9th Annual

        Startup of the Year Summit

        Presented by ReliaQuest

        Hosted by Embarc Collective

        Powered by Established

        Tampa, FL - January 25-27, 2022

        Watch the Finals
      • Thank you to all of the startups, sponsors, mentors, judges, and everyone who joined us in Tampa and virtually!

        CONGRATS TO OUR STARTUP OF THE YEAR WINNERS

      • 2021 Startup of the Year Winner

        SCOUT, Inc | Alexandria, VA

         

        SCOUT is developing orbital products and services to enable a new era of space safety, transparency, and improved Space Domain Awareness.

        Breakout Success Award

        GENESIS SYSTEMS | Tampa, FL

         

        New Award created this year for a company that outgrew the requirements of the competition; Genesis Systems is an industrial tech research and design company that generates water directly from the air.

        Top 5 Finalists

        HEROSHE | Houston, TX

        Home Lending Pal | Orlando, FL

        Relavo | Baltimore, MD

        SCOUT | Alexandria, VA

        Target Arm | Ridgefield, CT

        People's Choice Award

        Cope Notes | Tampa, FL

         

        Presented by ReliaQuest, the 2021 People's Choice Award was selected by internet voting. The overall winner was Cope Notes, which uses daily text messages that combine peer support, positive psychology, and digital journaling to improve mental and emotional health.

        TOP 15

        Top 5 +

        Cope Notes | Tampa, FL
        getWise | Framingham, MA
        Humantelligence | Miami Beach, FL

        interviewAI | Denver, CO

        KarbonPay | Richardson, TX

        MARVL | Tampa, FL

        Neural Lab | El Dorado Hills, CA
        Shamrck | St. Petersburg, FL

        Spontivly | Tampa, FL

        The Beans | San Francisco, CA

      •  

         

         

         

        The Summit

        Startup of the Year Summit brings the best startups together with investors, mentors, corporate connectors, and other experts to help rising founders build their networks and learn from some of the best and brightest out there, all with a goal of helping them to build their business.

         

        Match-made meetings, speakers, the competition, connections over shared meals - all designed to maximize opportunities for each attendee.

      • The Program

        Our team began working with startups around the country in 2006. In 2013, we formalized the Startup of the Year community and awards with an annual Summit to create a national stage for the most amazing rising, early stage companies from coast to coast. Our judges and mentors have included investors and leaders from top firms and companies across the country.

         

        Watch the Startup of the Year Finals event.

         

        Watch the Speaker Sessions.

      • Meet the Startup of the Year startups

        The Startups

        Through the years, we've worked with thousands of startups, many of whom are now household names, others are still on their entrepreneurial journey.

         

        Thank you to all of the participating companies! 

        Meet the Semifinalists here.

         

        Are you a startup looking to participate in future Startup of the Year events? Join our community.

         

        VOTING HAS ENDED for the People's Choice Award, sponsored by ReliaQuest!

         

      • Our Host

        Embarc Collective is Florida's fastest growing startup hub helping founders build bold, scalable, thriving companies. Embarc Collective works with a growing roster of over 100 early-stage startups at its 32,000 square-foot facility in downtown Tampa. Member companies receive customized, ongoing coaching and support from startup veterans to help propel their growth. For more information, please visit www.embarccollective.com

      • Welcome to Tampa!

        Las Vegas, San Jose, San Francisco, Boston, Memphis... next up, Tampa! Why?

         

        The Tampa Bay Region is having a moment - for real. The Region's fast-growing startup ecosystem has put them on the national map. Forbes magazine recently named Tampa the country's top emerging tech city, while TechCrunch and Axios highlighted the region for its burgeoning blockchain startup community. Awesome tech, sunny skies, and warm breezes in January? Yes, Please.

        Watch Mayor Jane Castor welcome Startup of the Year to Tampa!

        Why We Love Tampa Bay

         

        A Lifestyle Upgrade: Florida's amazing weather + emerging arts & culture. And don't forget our 2020 + 2021 NHL Stanley Cup, 2020 Tampa Bay Rays World Series Finalist, and NFL Superbowl LV Champions. #ChampaBay

         

        Where Everybody Knows Your Name: With accessible community & business leaders, you can have a seat at the table even as a newcomer.

         

        Make Your Mark: As a region growing before your eyes, you have the opportunity to put your fingerprints all over it.

         

        Get to Know the Local Community:

        • Tampa Bay Tech Guide
        • Forbes Ranks Tampa as the Top Emerging Tech City in the U.S.
        • 2021 Southeast Capital Landscape
      • Speakers

        Watch the speaker sessions from the Summit!

        Jeff Vinik

        Chairman & Governor

        Tampa Bay Lightning

        Mayor Jane Castor

        Mayor

        City of Tampa

        Derrick Brooks

        EVP, Corporate & Community Development

        Vinik Sports Group

        Jenn Lim

        Co-Founder & CEO

        Delivering Happiness

        Brian Murphy

        Founder and CEO

        ReliaQuest

        Erica Duignan Minnihan

        Co-Founder & General Partner

        Reign Ventures

        McKeever (Mac) Conwell, II

        Founder & Managing Partner

        RareBreed Ventures

        Lakshmi Shenoy

        CEO

        Embarc Collective

        Blake Hall

        Founder & CEO

        ID.me

        Jen Consalvo

        Co-CEO

        Established and Established Ventures

        Frank Gruber

        Co-CEO

        Established and Established Ventures

        Anna Mason

        Managing Partner

        Rise of the Rest Seed Fund

        Mert Iseri

        Entrepreneur in Residence

        MATH Venture Partners

        Julia Taxin

        General partner

        Grotech Ventures

        Paul Sohl

        CEO

        Florida High Tech Corridor

        Andrew Nguyen

        Head of Product

        BARK

        Kimberly Overman

        Chair

        Board of County Commissioners

        Nick Outman

        Shareholder

        Hill Ward Henderson

        Lauren Coffey

        Tech Reporter

        Tampa Bay Business Journal

        Kartik Goyani

        Vice President of Operations

        Metro Development Group

        Destin Wells

        SVP, Business Development

        Enterprise Florida, Inc.

        Lauren Prager

        Chief Strategy Officer

        Synapse

        Saxon Baum

        VP of Investor Relations

        Florida Funders
      • Mentors & Judges

        Mendy Yang

        Investor

        Lerer Hippeau

        Jason Putorti

        Executive Director

        Resistbot Action Fund

        Jacqueline Amable

        Managing Director, Venture For ClimateTech

        Nextcorps

        Larry Berlin

        Mentor

        University of Chicago

        Ronnie Martinez

        VC Associate

        CEAS Investments

        Marco Liuzzo

        CEO

        MGI INTERNATIONAL LLC

        Ally Schneider

        Venture Partnerships Lead

        Vouch

        Sherman Williams

        Managing Partner

        AIN Ventures

        Kim Seals

        General Partner

        The JumpFund

        Rafiq Ahmed

        Managing Partner

        Dipalo Ventures

        Allyson Plosko

        Principal

        SpringTime Ventures

        Rich Maloy

        VP of Engagement

        Established

        Cat Hernandez

        Partner

        The Venture Collective

        Derren Burrell, CDFM, AIF

        President & Founder

        Veteran Ventures Capital

        Dave Sachse

        Manager

        Sachse Family Fund

        Paige Soya

        Managing Director

        K Street Capital

        Rami Essaid

        CEO

        Finmark

        Jenny Fielding

        General Partner

        The Fund

        John Villa

        CEO

        Meridian ST

        Jesse Middleton

        General Partner

        Flybridge

        Heather Buffo

        Venture Growth & Partnerships Lead

        Republic 

        Ivan Rapin-Smith

        Managing Director

        Watsco Ventures

        Rachel Feinman

        VP, Innovation

        Tampa General Hospital

        Shashank Saxena

        Co-Founder and CEO

        VNDLY

        Fletcher Jones

        SVP, Product Management

        EVERFI

        Katie Milligan

        Program Manager, Innovation + Entrepreneurship

        Heartland Forward

        Joey Arora

        VP of Growth

        The Outpost

        Robin Dvorak

        Founder & President

        Blue Egg

        Don Dodge

        Investor/Advisor/Board Member

        Google, Microsoft, Groove, Napster, AltaVista, DEC

        James Colraine

        Head of Engagements

        AFVentures

        Dana Sadovnic

        Investor

        Radian Capital

        Scott Resnick

        COO

        Hardin

        Angel Gambino

        Founder

        Angel Club

        Don Rainey

        General Partner

        Grotech Ventures

        Eric Mathews

        CEO

        Start Co.

        Tiffany Luck

        Investor

        GGV Capital 

        Justin Fishkin

        Co-Founder

        future/of

        Jillian Friot

        Startup Program + Customer Success

        Orbit

        Mike Trotzke

        CEO

        Cheddar

        Eric Pilcher

        Partner

        Cherry Bekaert LLP

        Ellie Bahrmasel

        Co-Founder + CEO

        Further Faster Ventures

        Rohit Agarwal

        CPO

        CNN

        Kelli Martin

        Marketing Advisor and Small Business Champion

        FedEx

        Tom Waters

        Assistant Director of Startups & Business Development

        University of South Florida

        John Grandizio

        Assistant Market Head Director

        UBS

        Kirstie McCool

        Executive Director

        GuideWell Innovation

        Peter Liu

        Managing Partner

        Revelry Venture Partners

        Chelsea Oppenheim

        Director of Investments

        Florida Funders

        John Hill

        VP of Network

        Techstars

        Sean Drake

        Managing Partner

        Stony Lonesome Group LLC

        Ryan Whittemore

        Chief Investment Officer

        Florida Funders

        Dr. Susan Amat

        VP of Education

        Global Entrepreneurship Network

        Chris Traeger

        Executive Director

        Boomtown Accelerators

        Lesa Mitchell

        General Manager

        Techstars

        Lawrence Johnson

        SVP, Head of Fintech Engagement

        Morningstar

        Jim Harvey

        VP of Sales

        Pendo

        Allie Esch

        Senior Associate

        Dundee Venture Capital

        Mauricio Tashima

        Venture Capital Investor

        Paris Ventures

        Marko Velazquez

        Partner

        Palladius Capital Management

        Kathryn Swintek

        Managing Partner

        Golden Seeds Fund 2, LP

        Matt Hunckler

        CEO

        Powderkeg

        Burunda Prince

        Chief Operating Officer

        The Russell Center of Innovation for Entrepreneurs

        Roderick Miller

        CEO

        Invest Puerto Rico

        Justine D'Addio

        Founder & Managing Director

        Hyde Park PR

        Cesar Hernandez

        Founder and CEO

        Omni Public

        Chante Harris

        Director, Climate Investment & Partnerships

        Venture For ClimateTech

        Ed Jean-Louis

        Co-founder & Managing Director

        Tale Venture Partners

        Peter Alemis

        Investor

        Alemis Ventures

        Frances Taheri

        Venture Senior Principal

        Accenture

        Dan Fuchs

        Attorney

        Hutchison PLLC

        Scott Lopano

        Principal

        Tech Square Ventures

        Ben Gardner

        Director of Support

        Drift

        Monique Villa

        Investor

        Mucker Capital

        Shane Smith

        Director of Central Florida

        Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship

        David Robinson

        Economic Development Manager

        Tampa Bay Economic Development Council

        Ashby Green

        Adjunct Professor

        University of Tampa

        Zen Matoshi

        Investor, Partner, Global Head of Innovation

        Faraday Future

      • Agenda

        January 26, 2022

        8:15 am - 8:30am ET - Welcome with Frank Gruber (Established) & Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective)

        After a long layoff due to the pandemic, Frank and Lakshmi kick off the 9th Annual Startup of the Year Summit and then welcome ReliaQuest CEO, Brian Murphy, to the stage.

        8:30 am - 8:45am ET - Brian Murphy (ReliaQuest) with Jen Consalvo (Established)

        ReliaQuest CEO, Brian Murphy, will share his startup story from bootstrapped to a unicorn with Established Co-CEO, Jen Consalvo.

        8:45 am - 9:00 am ET - BREAK

        9:00 am - 9:15 am ET - Product Mindset with Andrew Nguyen (BARK) & Matt Hunckler (Powderkeg)

        Get into the mind of a product development lead as Andrew Nguyen of BARK discusses building products with Matt Hunckler of Powderkeg.

        9:15 am - 9:30 am ET - Founder Conversation: Courtney & Tye Caldwell (ShearShare) with Frank Gruber (Established)

        It's been six years since Courtney and Tye Caldwell, Co-Founders of ShearShare, became the 2016 Startup of the Year. Frank Gruber, Co-CEO of Established, will catch up with them on their latest round of funding and recent move to the northeast.

        9:30 am - 9:45 am ET - Smart Cities & Making Your Metro Better - Kartik Goyani (Metro Development Group) with Lauren Prager (Synapse)

        9:45 am - 10:00 am ET - Formation to Fundraising: Legal Traps for the Unwary - Nick Outman (Hill Ward Henderson) with Lauren Coffey (Tampa Bay Inno / Tampa Bay Business Journal)

        Understanding the legal aspects of business are critical to you business success. In this session, Nick Outman of Hill Ward Henderson will share insights and tips with Lauren Coffey of Tampa Bay Inno / Tampa Bay Business Journal.

        10:00 am - 10:15 am ET - Amy Beckley (mfb Fertility / Proov) with Frank Gruber (Established)

        About 1 out of 8 Americans struggle to get pregnant, Amy Beckley, the CEO of MFB Fertility - the makers of PROOV- catches up with Frank Gruber of Established about what PROOV is doing to help.

        10:15 am - 10:30 am ET - BREAK

        10:30 am - 11:00 am ET - Funding Q&A - Julia Taxin (Grotech), Sherman Williams (AIN Ventures / Scout Ventures), Heather Buffo (Republic) with Saxon Baum (Florida Funders)

        Cash is fuel for startups. In this panel, open Q&A discussion, angel and venture capital investors will help with all those burning fund questions.

        11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET - LUNCH Sponsored by UBS

        12:00 pm - 12:30 pm ET - Jeff Vinik (Tampa Bay Lightning) with Frank Gruber (Established)

        12:30 pm - 1:00 pm ET - Jesse Middleton (The Community Fund / Flybridge) with Matt Hunckler (Powderkeg)

        1:00 pm - 1:30 pm ET - BREAK

        1:30 pm - 1:45 pm ET - Startup Lessons From Rami Essaid (Finmark) with Jen Consalvo (Established)

        Rami Essaid has started multiple successful startups. His last business could have been a unicorn exit, but was deeply impacted by some errors in his cash flow projections. With his latest startup, Finmark, Rami helps other founders ensure that these errors won't happen to them, too. He'll catch up with Jen Consalvo, Established, to talk about his progress and journey since finishing as one of the Top 5 in the 2020 Startup of the Year program.

        1:45 pm - 2:00 pm ET - Mert Iseri (MATH Venture Partners) & Author of Exit Right, with Rich Maloy (Established & SpringTime Ventures)

        Starting up is great, but so is exiting successfully. Mert Iseri of MATH Venture Partners shares insights on the best way to exit taken from his new book, Exit Right.

        2:00 pm - 2:15 pm ET - BREAK

        2:15 pm - 2:30 pm ET - Erica Duignan (Reign VC) with Matt Hunckler (Powderkeg)

        2:30 pm - 2:45 pm ET - Startup Lessons from Accelerating Startups Travis Holoway & Rodney Williams (SoLoFunds) with Lesa Mitchell (Techstars)

        It's been one year since SoLoFunds was named Startup of the Year. Founders Travis Holoway and Rodney Williams share their latest news and lessons learned from their rising startup journey with Lesa Mitchell of Techstars.

        2:45 pm - 3:00 pm ET - Jenny Fielding (The Fund) with Frank Gruber (Established)

        Jenny Fielding led Techstars NYC for years until recently when she left to take on The Fund full-time. Frank Gruber of Established catches up about her decision to go all-in on venture capital, what she likes to invest in, and more.

        3:00 pm - 3:30 pm ET - BREAK

        3:30 pm - 4:00 pm ET - Building A Culture with Jenn Lim (Delivering Happiness and Author of Beyond Happiness) with Jen Consalvo (Established)

        Culture is an important part of every business. Jenn Lim has dedicated her life to helping organizations from Starbucks to Sallie Mae build workplace cultures. Jenn will share insights from her latest best-selling book Beyond Happiness with Jen Consalvo from Established.

        4:00 pm - 4:30 pm ET - Blake Hall (ID.me) with Frank Gruber (Established)

        Over the last decade, Blake Hall of ID.me and his team turned their startup into a unicorn business, while developing a way to simplify and share your identity online. We'll learn from his experiences in this final session of the day as he speaks with Frank Gruber of Established.

        4:30 pm - 4:45 pm ET - Closing Remarks with Frank Gruber (Established) and Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective)

        5:00 pm - 8:00 pm ET - Happy Hour & Feast of Innovation

      • January 27, 2022

        8:00 am - 11:00 am ET - Mentor Matchmaking

        Building relationships that last is one of the most important things you can do in life and business. This session, much like speed dating, aims to spark those connections as we look to play matchmakers between startup founders and investors, and corporate industry leaders.

        11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET - LUNCH

        11:30 am - 11:45 am ET - Welcome / Announce Top 5 - Finals Kickoff - Frank Gruber & Jen Consalvo (Established) and Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective) & Commissioner Kim Overman

        Kicking off Summit's final day with a special welcome.

        11:45 am - 12:00 pm ET - Paul Sohl (Florida High Tech Corridor)

        This talk will stage for the day with insights and motivational words from Paul Sohl.

        12:00 pm - 12:15 pm ET - Anna Mason (Rise of the Rest Fund / Revolution) with Frank Gruber (Established)

        These days you can startup anywhere. Anna Mason and the Rise of the Rest fund have been investing in 'everywhere else, since 2015. Frank Gruber has toured with Anna and team, and they will catch up about the hot new trends.

        12:15 pm - 12:30 pm ET - Derrick Brooks (NFL HOFer / Vinik Sports Group) with Lakshmi Shenoy (Embarc Collective)

        Former NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks leads up the corporate and community efforts at Vinik Sports Group. He will share about his pivot from NFL superstar to corporate executive with Lakshmi Shenoy of Embarc Collective, highlighting the value of teamwork and the importance of community.

        12:30 pm - 12:45 pm ET - Finals Judge Introductions - Erica Duignan (Reign Ventures), Derrick Brooks (NFL HOFer / Tampa Bay Lightning), Jesse Middleton (The Community Fund / Flybridge), Anna Mason (Rise of the Rest Fund / Revolution), Mac Conwell (RareBreed VC), and Lesa Mitchell (Techstars), introduced by Frank Gruber & Jen Consalvo (Established)

        Let's meet the finals judges for the 9th annual Startup of the Year Summit! The Finals come next.

        12:45 pm - 2:00 pm ET - Top 5 Startup Pitches - 5 Minute Pitch, 3 Minute Q&A, 2 Minute Transition

        The five top startups in the 9th Annual Startup of the Year competition pitch for the grand champion title.

        2:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET - BREAK

        2:30 pm - 3:00 pm ET - Startup of the Year Awards Ceremony, including the People's Choice Award presented by ReliaQuest

      • This Event Is Made Possible By...

        ReliaQuest

        Title Sponsor + People's Choice Award

        ReliaQuest, a global leader in Open XDR-as-a-Service, is known for being the force multiplier for security operations teams. ReliaQuest GreyMatter is a cloud-native Open XDR platform that brings together telemetry from any security and business solution, whether on-premises, or in one or multiple clouds, to unify detection, investigation, response and resilience. ReliaQuest combines the power of technology and 24/7/365 security expertise to give organizations the visibility and coverage they require to make cybersecurity programs more effective.

         

        ReliaQuest is a private company headquartered in Tampa, Fla., with multiple global locations. For more information, visit www.reliaquest.com.

      • Scale Up Level

        Pendo

        On-site Meeting Opportunities

        January 26 | Embarc Collective

        Strategic Property Partners

        Water Street Tampa

        UBS

        Lunch + Session Sponsor

        Florida High Tech Corridor & 

        University of South Florida

      • Startup Level

        Cherry Bekaert LLP

        Prize Provider

        DRIFT

        Enterprise Florida

        Happy Hour Sponsor - Feast of Innovation

        Florida Funders

        Hillsborough County EDi2

        Hill Ward Henderson

        Holmes + Brakel

        Lounge Sponsor

        Hutchison PLLC

        Prize Provider

        JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.

        Lowth Entrepreneurship Center

        University of Tampa

        Metro Development Group /

        Metro Places

        Omni Public

      • Early-Stagers Level

        43NORTH
        Accenture
        Ballard Partners
        Head Shot Booker
        LILA
        PETER HURLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
        SpotMyPhotos
        Visit Tampa Bay
      • Table Hosts

        Feast of Innovation

        Catapult Lakeland
        Cherry Bekaert LLP
        Embarc Collective
        Enterprise Florida
        Florida Funders
        Holmes + Brakel
        Omni Public
        Pendo
        ReliaQuest
        Synapse
        St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation
        Tampa Bay Tech
        TampaBay.Ventures
        Tampa Bay Wave
      • Prize Providers 

        Carta

        2021 Winner - Free Year

        All Semifinalists - Equity Workshop
        CDW

        Winner - Apple iPad Pros

        Top 5 - Apple HomePod Mini's
        Cherry Bekaert LLP

        Top 5 Finalists

        10 hours of consulting for each finalist that may include accounting, tax or advisory services.
        Valued at $12,500
        Hutchison PLLC

        2021 Winner

        $3K of in-kind legal services
        HubSpot for Startups

        Top 5 Finalists

        All Semifinalists
        Hyde Park PR

        2021 Winner

        PR Consulting Package
        Pilea

        2021 Winner

        Custom-designed developmental opportunity to support the improved performance of the winning organization with Pilea Coach, Kelby Kupersmid. Valued at $10,000
        Republic

        Top 5 Finalists

        $3K off onboarding costs
        StickerGiant

        2021 Winner

        & All Attendees
      • Get Involved

        The Startup of the Year program continues all year long. Contact us today to see how you can get your brand involved as a sponsor and supporter.

        Submit

      About Us

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      Startup of the Year

      Established Ventures

       

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